5 reasons to have a Lasting Power of Attorney

5 Reasons for having LPAs:-

1. To have someone to deal with your finances on your behalf if you are unable to do so.  If something happens to you and you need to e.g. deal with your bank or even sell a property, but are physically incapable of doing so, without a Property and Financial LPA, an application would need to be made to the Court and this would prove very costly and time consuming, which could result in you having no access to your bank accounts for many months when The Court of Protection deal with your matter, resulting in unpaid bills and no access to funds to name but a few difficulties.
2. You can choose numerous Attorneys to act on your behalf (up to a maximum of four) and also Replacement Attorneys, should they be unable to act.
3. You can decide how the Attorneys make decisions and even give them specific instructions.
4. If you already have an EPA they are still valid but, the LPA is the preferred document as it can be registered straight away and used even when the Donor still has mental capacity for Property and Financial decisions (as in number 1 above). The EPA cannot be used at all for Health and Welfare decisions, but an LPA can, once mental capacity has been lost.
5. The use of an LPA is quite safe. LPAs are regulated under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and there is a Code of Practice that must be followed. The Attorney must always act in the best interests of the Donor and cannot give away their assets nor mix the Donor’s assets with their own assets.  Nor can an Attorney change the Donor’s Will. LPAs are a lifetime document and are no longer valid on the death of the Donor.